BLEACHERS BREW EST. MAY 2006

Someone asked me how my blog and newspaper column came to be titled "Bleachers Brew". It's like this, it's an amalgam of sorts of two things: The bleachers area in the stadium/arena where I used to sit when I would watch baseball, football, and basketball games and Miles Davis' great jazz album Bitches Brew. That's how it got culled together. I originally planned on calling it "The View from the Big Chair" that is a nod to Tears For Fear's second album, Songs from the Big Chair. So there.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Since
their last championship year in the UAAP – and that was in 2010 – the question surrounding
the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses is can they put it all together?
They have had very good teams since but have mostly underachieved.

This
season with a veteran crew back for another go-around and considering they will
be losing some key players after this year, the question is, is it this year
where they breakthrough and fulfill their promise?

Las
Saturday, October 1, this team made an impressive debut in the Reinforced
Conference of the Shakey’s V-League where they took down in four sets (25-15,
20-25, 25-13, 25-21) a veteran Philippine Air Force team that most recently
made the finals of the Open Conference that kicked off this season.

Both
sides fielded an incomplete line-up. Unavailable for PAF were middle hitters
Judy Caballejo and Jen Manzano while for UST, Pam Lastimosa, Cherry Rondina,
and Christine Francisco were not in the venue.

What
was impressive about UST’s win was their much improved serve, floor defense,
and the strong presence of key players.

Opponents
would previously target EJ Laure because of her suspect receiving. Laure, now
on her third playing year, was superb despite having problems with her contact
lens. Libero Patricia Rasmo was also solid in her digs. With the improved floor
defense, a lot of what the Jet Spikers threw at them they returned.

Their
serve had PAF struggling all game long. As a result, it took Joy Cases and
Me-Ann Pantino some time to get their game going. And setter Wendy Semana had
an uncharacteristic bad game.

As
for the strong play… I always thought that Chloe Cortez (12 points) gave some
quality minutes last season coming off the bench. In this game, she provided
obvious leadership on the court and solid play on both ends. Alex Cabanos
despite looking like she gained weight was excellent with 58 excellent sets! Ria
Meneses was inconsistent early on but picked up her game eventually (she finished
with 15 points with 2 coming from blocks).

However,
the player I was really impressed with was sophomore Carla Sandoval (19 points,
tied with Laure). The second year player out of King’s Montessori moved to the
open position (that will no doubt be occupied by Rondina when she returns)
where she pounded PAF. She played with an exuberance that is close to Rondina’s
and her play was infectious. She showed that she could hit from different
positions including the back row. She was likewise effective in her serve and
in defense. She was also vocal on the court playing both offense and defense. The
makings of a future team captain?

Sandoval’s
play overshadowed Rica Rivera who was mostly kept on the bench. Nevertheless, I
expect Rivera to also kick it up another notch.

Coach
Kungfu Reyes looks to have a talented squad that could go 11 deep for this
coming UAAP. For now, the Golden Tigresses will showcase their wares in this
Reinforced Conference.

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What I do for a living?

I also write regularly for Business Mirror; philstar.com; abs-cbnnews.com, and rappler.com.

I am also currently the media officer for the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup, the National Basketball Training Center, and the Flying V Davao Thunders.

I do PR consultancy for a variety of clients that I do not want to divulge.

I used to teach journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University hand have given lectures about journalism, new media, marketing, and public relations at the Ateneo, UP Diliman, UST, San Beda, Immaculate Conception Academy, Miriam College, Mindanao State University, FIFA seminars, and a few other schools and organizations.

I used to write for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippines Free Press, and Maxim Philippines. I have also contributed to FHM, Men's Health, Tower Sports NBA, Rebound, and a few other sports, interior design, and lifestyle magazines as well. Most recently, I was the editor-in-chief of PBA Life, the Official Lifestyle Magazine of the Philippine Basketball Association as well as Season 40 edition of Hardcourt, the season-in-review.

My blog, Bleachers' Brew, serves as a hub for many of my writings (but not all as there are some that are exclusive).

When I have free time, I listen to my collection of over 5,000 CDs, read, watch DVDs, or walk my dog around the subdivision.